


Whimsical Thievery

by ericsonclan



Category: The Walking Dead (Telltale Video Game)
Genre: Awkward Crush, F/M, Kleptomania, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-07
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-13 21:15:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29907192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ericsonclan/pseuds/ericsonclan
Summary: Elora's kleptomania shines through when she steals all of Rosie's dog toys in hopes of getting time with Marlon.
Relationships: Elora/Marlon (Walking Dead: Done Running)
Kudos: 7





	Whimsical Thievery

**Author's Note:**

> Something I wrote for a trade with my dear friend lookitslilac on Tumblr!
> 
> (by Laura)

Elora lay on the bottom bunk of her bed, staring up at the iron slats above her blankly as she clutched a raggedy old teddy bear to her chest. Maybe she had messed up. Maybe her kleptomania wasn’t the best way to steal time with Marlon, especially when the thing she had stolen was all of Rosie’s chew toys. The brunette glanced down at the pile of worn out, handmade dog toys upon her bed. There had to be at least a dozen now. She’d taken them gradually over time, snatching up one whenever she spotted it. Her love-addled mind had somehow thought that if all Rosie’s chew toys went missing, Marlon would eventually come to Elora’s room searching for them. But how would stealing from his dog be a good conversation starter?

The door creaked open and Elora jumped, frantically throwing the teddy bear underneath the bed opposite her and sitting upright on her own. It turned out just to be Rosie though. The pit bull smiled happily up at Elora for a moment before trotting over to the abandoned teddy bear and chewing it contentedly. Elora watched Rosie with fondness, smiling softly at the fun she was having. Stealing Rosie’s toys hadn’t attracted Marlon yet, but Rosie had quickly sniffed them out. Elora had worried at first that this meant Rosie would take all the toys back with her and the stolen collection would need to be built up again, but the pit seemed perfectly fine with enjoying the toys in the comfort of Elora’s room then heading out to her own business after getting some friendly head scritches.

Grabbing a tug toy made out of a series of ratty t-shirts, Elora scooted off her bed and onto the floor. She waved the toy softly back and forth, hoping to draw Rosie’s attention. “Here, girl! You wanna play?”

The pit bull chewed the teddy bear for a moment longer before looking up in interest. The movement of the toy was too much to resist; she bounded forward, clamping down on the other end of the tug toy and pulling hard. Elora giggled and held fast, giving Rosie a bit of a challenge for a minute before letting go and conceding defeat. Rosie paraded round the room proudly with her newly won toy in her mouth.

“Yeah, you’re a tough girl, aren’t you?” Elora teased, amused by the dog’s display. “Little do you know I _let_ you win. But I’ll never spill that secret,”

“You’re lucky Rosie doesn’t speak English then,”

Elora’s eyes shot up to see Marlon in her doorway, his arms crossed as he leaned casually against the doorframe. He had a friendly smile on his face as he watched Rosie wildly shake her toy back and forth. “I was wondering where Rosie’s been going off to these days. She must really like your company if she brought all her toys here,”

Elora felt her stomach twist. Should she admit that she had in fact been the one stealing Rosie’s toys instead of being the receiver of slobbery gifts? The kids all knew of her kleptomania, but still, Elora figured it wasn’t a cute look to start out a conversation by saying “I’ve been stealing from your dog.” Instead she decided to redirect the conversation. “What have you been up to?”

“Oh, the usual. Checking our supplies, making plans for the week, trying to get the others to follow said plan,” Marlon gave a wry smile. Pushing off from the doorframe, he came to sit across from Elora, forming a triangle with her, him and Rosie. “How about you? Have you been busy?”

 _Busy obsessing over my crush with you._ Again, something she probably shouldn’t admit out loud. Everyone seemed to have picked up on the crush, hell, Elora suspected Marlon even knew about it at this point but blurting out “I’m seriously crushing on you” seemed like all it would lead to was an awkward rejection. Better to enjoy platonic interactions and dream of something more than have that dream snuffed out entirely. “I finished my chores a while ago. Did watch duty then helped Omar prep some veggies for dinner,”

“Good. I’m glad Omar accepts your help. He can be notoriously picky about stuff like that,”

Elora shrugged. “I just do as he says and nothing more. It’s not complicated,”

“I suppose Lou’s words about Omar’s master chef drama should be taken with a grain of salt,” Marlon commented dryly, a knowing smile on his face. The bags under his eyes were apparent even as he smiled.

Elora frowned, her eyebrows knitting together in concern. “I can take more chores on if it’s needed. You look like you’ve been stretching yourself pretty thin,”

“Ah, it’s nothing you could help with,” Marlon waved a hand nonchalantly. “Just the sort of problems that come with living past the end of the world. Food, safety, the future… worries like that never go away,”

“Do you think often about the future?” Elora’s voice was soft as she reached over to scratch behind Rosie’s ears some more.

“Not in a hopeful way if that’s what you mean,” Marlon poked one of the toys with the edge of his boot before pulling it closer. “More like ‘How will we survive another winter? What if the gates wear down and we can’t reinforce them properly?’ Stuff like that,”

“Maybe it sounds naïve, but when I was out on the road, I always told myself “when there’s a will, there’s a way”. There were a lot of times where I got stuck in situations I didn’t think I could ever get out of, but I didn’t give up and here I am today,” Elora shrugged. “Not sure if that helps at all,”

“No, it’s a nice thought. We’ve survived way longer than I thought we would when this all started. I just wonder sometimes if there are problems that just can’t be solved,” Marlon looked saddened by his own words. Elora sensed there was more there but she didn’t want to press.

Suddenly Rosie barked, jumping to her feet and looking out the window. A bird was flitting back and forth between the branches of the tree outside Elora’s window. Rosie seemed transfixed by the bird, her body poised to leap at it though there was no way for her to reach it. Marlon chuckled. “Whatcha see there, girl? A bird?” He picked up another of her toys, a crudely sewn bunny made out of old socks. “How ‘bout you chew on a rabbit instead?” He waved the toy in the dog’s direction, but Rosie was too intent on watching the bird’s every movement to notice.

“She’s like you when you’re trying to solve a problem,” Elora watched the pit with a fond smile, patting her back. “Never stepping back, obsessing over it till it’s finished,”

“Says the girl who keeps lists on everything,” Marlon gently teased, nodding towards her desk. He was right. The top of the desk had an impressive pile of paper upon it, most of it handwritten notes of Elora’s.

Elora wrinkled her nose before rolling her eyes good-naturedly. “You got me there,” She watched Marlon for a second, wondering if she should say anything more about the problem that seemed to be plaguing him. She couldn’t really help until he let her know what it was, but she wanted to do what she could. “Y’know, even though you’re the leader, you have a school full of kids ready to do their part. I know Aasim is always trying to think of new ways to increase our efficiency and hunting hauls. And Louis might not always be the best at keeping a good work ethic, but he loves you like a brother. If you needed help, I know he’d give it, no matter how much was needed. All I’m saying is.. we’re here. We can all work together to make the school a safe home,”

A light sparked in Marlon’s eyes for a second but didn’t seem to quite reach their depths. Instead the same wry smile tugged at his lips again. “’We’? Weren’t you saying you were planning to move on sooner or later?”

“Well… after spending some time here, I’ve found I quite like it. There are some things I want to stick around longer for. So I’ll be going on the later side, not sooner,” Elora grinned at Maron before feeling her own emotions overwhelm her and looking away. Had that been too forward? It felt like she’d practically thrown herself at Marlon, took him by the shoulders and screamed “You’re the thing I’m staying for!” Not that he was the only thing that made her want to stay… but he was a big factor.

“Well, I for one am glad to hear you’ll be staying at Ericson a while longer. It’s good having you around,”

Elora dared a glance and felt her heart melt at the warm, accepting look in Marlon’s eyes as he smiled at her. Before she could think of anything else to say though, the mulleted boy was on his feet and whistling to his dog.

“C’mon, Rosie. It’s time to walk the perimeter,” Marlon glanced down at Elora apologetically. “You alright with me taking her?”

“Oh, of course! I was gonna go chat with Aasim soon anyway,” Elora dusted off her jeans, getting to her feet as well. Rosie had finally pulled herself away from the enchantment of the bird and was standing expectantly at Marlon’s side, ready for duty.

“I’ll see you later then?”

“Yep, later! Bye!” Realizing she’d said bye too soon and that Marlon was still standing before her, Elora awkwardly bustled over to the desk to look busy with some of her papers.

“Bye. See you a dinner,” With that Marlon was gone and his dog with him, the joint sound of footsteps and paws echoing down the empty hallway.

Elora took a seat at her desk and lowered her head to rest upon it with a groan. That could have gone better. Still, she’d spent time with Marlon and the conversation had been pleasant. She hadn’t utterly embarrassed herself. In fact, Marlon seemed to appreciate her advice, even if it hadn’t been quite what he needed. Turning her head to the side, Elora looked out the window wistfully. She should have offered to walk the perimeter with Marlon. But she couldn’t take back her words now; she had told him she was meeting with Aasim so that’s where she’d go. With one final sigh, Elora got to her feet, shook the tension out of her shoulders. She’d return Rosie’s toys later tonight. They’d served their purpose. Well, maybe half the toys. She really liked having Rosie chill in her room. And if a certain blonde boy dropped by once more, she certainly wouldn’t object. With that thought in mind, Elora walked out of her room and shut the door.


End file.
